Season of Giving
by HarvestBeauty
Summary: Terri has a surprise run in with Larry at the hospital.


Terri's stomach grumbled so loudly, she was afraid that other people could hear it. She walked briskly down the hospital hallway, wanting to get started on her lunch break as quickly as possible. She had a particularly delicious sandwich in mind that she could not wait to sink her teeth into.

In the midst of her daydreaming about food, Terri stopped in her tracks. As she had passed by a hospital room, her subconscious mind had picked up on a very familiar looking person.

_Nah, it couldn't be...could it?_

Terri turned around and poked her head into the room. Sure enough, she saw Larry sitting there in a chair against the wall. His left sleeve was rolled up and he had an IV line going up from his arm into a blood bag. His eyes were closed. The casualness of the situation and the fact that he was alone in the room clued her into the fact that this was a donation scenario rather than a transfusion one, but still, it always jarred her to see familiar faces at the hospital.

Terri crept into the room, unbeknownst to Larry, who almost appeared to be asleep.

"Hey, there. Fancy seeing you here! Are you alright?" Terri spoke up finally, causing Larry to jump as his eyes snapped open.

"Oh, hi Terri! Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just donating blood." Larry smiled softly at her.

"How come?" Terri walked further into the room, sitting down beside him in a vacant seat. She was very curious.

"I guess it's the holiday season. It has me feeling really generous for some reason." Larry shrugged, smiling sheepishly.

"How sweet!" Terri grinned. "I was just on my way to my lunch break when I saw you in here. Kind of threw me for a loop at first."

"I'll bet!" Larry laughed. "Well, hopefully you'll never see any of us in here for more serious reasons."

"Amen!" Terri agreed with him.

The friends lapsed into silence and Larry had closed his eyes again. Terri frowned a little bit in concern because she had started to notice some things that she, as a nurse, was trained to seek out when it came to blood donors. She noticed that Larry was sweating ever so slightly and she picked up on his paler than normal complexion. She also realized that he seemed kind of subdued and she wondered if the reason he kept shutting his eyes was so he didn't have to see the needle in his arm.

"You're not squeamish when it comes to blood, are you?" Terri asked him carefully.

Larry didn't answer her, but he was taking in some deep, calming breaths.

"Larry?" Terri asked him again.

"Hmmm?" Larry snapped out of it, looking at her with unfocused eyes. "What did you say?"

"I asked you if you were squeamish when it came to blood, and now I'm starting to think that you are." Terri was starting to get worried.

Larry waved her off casually.

"Nah...I mean, I used to be. I used to have it pretty badly when I was younger. Blood tests were a nightmare, but that was a really long time ago." Larry paused for a moment before continuing. "I don't think I'll pass out this time."

"You've passed out before?!" Terri gasped. "You should've told the nurse who brought you to this room so she could have had someone come here and stay with you!"

"No way!" Larry shook his head, his macho pride rearing its head. "I'm telling you...I'm just _fine_."

"You look a little queasy to me." Terri pointed out.

Larry sighed, but didn't say anything. He knew there was no winning this argument with Terri, especially because she was right.

"Terri? As much as I love your company, didn't you say something about going on your lunch break?" Larry wanted to know.

"That was before I knew you had a thing about blood." Terri shook her head. "I'm going to stay here with you instead."

"Oh no, Terri..." Larry protested, feeling guilty. "I don't want you to miss your lunch because of me! Go ahead and eat. I'm not going to keel over, I swear!"

"Better safe than sorry." Terri crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not leaving you here by yourself. Besides, I'm off in three hours...I can hold out until then."

"Well then here..." Larry reached with his free arm in order to snatch the plate of cookies off of the hospital tray that stood next to him. He handed them over to Terri. "Share these with me."

Terri smiled, taking the plate of cookies from him. Larry handed her a juice box moments later, which she also gratefully accepted.

"I suppose this will tide me over, but you really should be having these." Terri informed him. "There is a reason why they give cookies and juice to blood donors, you know. It helps you regain your strength."

Terri carefully ate a cookie, cupping her hand under it in order to keep the crumbs from falling onto the floor.

"You know..." Larry broke the silence. "Seeing as I pretty much ruined your lunch break, you should let me take you out to dinner when you get off of work."

"Are you serious?" Terri asked him through a mouthful of cookie.

"Of course!" Larry smiled. "I'll take you anywhere you want to go, my treat. Whatever you're in the mood for."

"Even if it's just a sandwich shop?" Terri giggled. She still had a craving for that darned sandwich.

"Sure!" Larry laughed. "That's even better. Nice and cheap!"

"Well, that depends..." Terri's blue eyes sparkled teasingly. "Is Jack going to stay home this time?"

"Yes, Terri. I think I can handle being alone with you now." Larry rolled his eyes at the good natured jab.

Terri smirked to herself, sipping from the juice box in order to wash down the rest of the cookie. "Oh, what the heck, why not? I'm going to be ravenous by the time I get off of work."

Larry's face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Really?" He asked her excitedly.

"Sure." Terri smiled, paraphrasing something he'd said to her earlier. "It's the holiday season and I'm feeling generous with my time."

Larry was glowing and had forgotten all about the needle in his arm, but Terri hadn't. She wasn't queasy when it came to most things, being a nurse and all, and she always wondered what made people squeamish when it came to blood. She never had that problem and she was curious as to why it seemed that a lot of people did. Was it a blood pressure problem? A problem with needles? Or was it the blood itself?

"You know..." Terri reached forward and squeezed his free hand with one of hers. "You don't have to be embarrassed if you've got a problem with blood. A lot of people do."

"I know." Larry smiled at her. "Speaking of blood, I used to be a bit of a bruiser back in high school."

"I don't believe you." Terri laughed. Larry seemed entirely too good natured and like too much of a pleasure seeker to be a fighter.

"It's true!" Larry insisted. "This one time, this guy who was older and bigger than me said a really mean crack about my family, so I beat the stuffing out of him. Now, I didn't get out unscathed. He broke my nose...but I still won the fight. But then I'd gone to the boy's bathroom in order to clean up and I noticed the blood gushing out of my nose and, just like that, I was out cold. Woke up in the nurse's office a few hours later. There's just something so creepy about seeing my own blood outside of my body, you know what I mean? I never had a problem with other people's blood...just my own."

"Wow..." Terri remarked, momentarily shocked before slipping back into her casual, joking manner. "It seems like you've mellowed out in your old age."

"Hey, watch it or I might throw up all over you!" Larry teased her, playfully wagging a finger at her. "I've still got this stupid thing in my arm, you know. We're not out of the woods yet."

"It wouldn't bother me, I'm a nurse! I've seen it all, experienced everything under the sun!" Terri said brightly. "But that's really interesting to hear...about the blood, I mean. I always thought that most people who had a blood problem were just as afraid of the needles as they were of the blood itself."

"That too!" Larry shuddered. "It's no picnic having a needle piercing your vein. I mean, yuck!"

"Yeah, I guess it is pretty gross and creepy if you think about it." Terri agreed with him. "If I thought too hard about it, I'd probably have a hard time giving patients needles."

"Terri?" Larry spoke up quietly.

"Yes?" Terri asked him.

"Can we talk about something else?" Larry swallowed thickly. He had started to shake slightly and he looked as if he was going to be sick.

"Oh, right! I'm sorry!" Terri apologized sheepishly.

"So..." Larry squeezed her hand and smiled at her uneasily. "How has your day been so far?"

Terri began prattling on and on about her day at the hospital in order to take his mind off of his situation. After a while, Terri noticed the color beginning to come back into his face and she noticed that his smile seemed more genuine instead of forced. She felt so relieved.

"Hey, there!" A nurse cheerfully walked into the room. "How are we feeling?"

"Fantastic ever since this beautiful angel decided to stay here with me!" Larry told the nurse, nodding his head over to Terri. "I think she deserves a raise, don't you?"

"I'll see what I can do." The nurse laughed.

Terri blushed at Larry's kind words about her. She blushed just a little bit harder when Larry grinned and playfully winked at her. The nurse went to work, unwrapping the tourniquet from Larry's arm and taking the IV needle out. She placed a Band-Aid where the needle had been and then wheeled the IV stand, along with the blood bag, out of the room.

"I'm free!" Larry breathed, his eyes wide with joy. "Well, how about that! I made it through an entire blood donating session without passing out...and I have you to thank for it!"

Larry jumped up from his seat, pulling Terri up from where she was sitting and wrapped her up into a tight hug. He was so happy not to have that needle in his arm anymore. He felt overjoyed and victorious.

"I'm happy for you, really." Terri laughed, returning the embrace. "But you shouldn't stand up so fast after you've just given blood, because it could cause a momentary drop in blood pressure and-"

His grip around her grew slack and he groaned and started to sway.

"Uh oh..." Terri muttered under her breath, her eyes widening. Larry had gone limp and had started to fall, while Terri was doing her best to keep him upright. It was no use and they both ended up toppling over. Terri's nursing reflexes kicked into gear and she managed to cushion Larry's head with her hand so he didn't end up smacking his head on the floor.

"Larry!" Terri was up on her knees in a flash. She hovered above him, trying to shake her out cold friend to consciousness. "Larry, can you hear me?"

She began feeling for a pulse. Luckily for her, it was a short spell and Larry slowly opened his eyes. He seemed to not be focusing on anything for a moment before zeroing in on her.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Terri breathed a sigh of relief, before addressing Larry gently. "It looks like you spoke a little too soon, huh? Now, aren't you glad I decided to stay with you after all?"

"Always." Larry smiled weakly at her, before wondering out loud. "What am I doing on the floor?" He was still trying to come to fully and wasn't quite connecting the dots yet.

"You just had a little fainting spell, but everything's alright now." Terri smiled at him sympathetically.

"Oh, crap..." Larry sighed.

"It's no big deal." Terri soothed. "Now, we're going to have to get you back up on that chair, okay?"

Terri helped him up into a sitting position. And then with an incredible strength betraying her thin frame, she lifted Larry off of the floor and placed him back into the chair he had previously been sitting in. Through the heavy fog in his brain, Larry was amazed.

"What are you, wonder woman?" He asked her.

"I've lifted patients three times heavier than you." Terri chuckled, quite proud of herself. "Now, just relax, honey."

Larry leaned forward, placing his head in his hands as he tried to let the dizziness subside. He vaguely registered that Terri had just called him "honey", but he figured maybe he was feeling more woozy than he thought and he had just imagined it.

"Okay, I think I'm good." Larry stood up from the chair. Terri gasped and wrapped an arm around his waist...she knew it was way too soon. This wasn't going to go well. Larry took a few wobbly steps forward, before Terri cast him a concerned glance.

"You're walking like you're drunk." She remarked. "I think you need to sit down some more."

Terri helped Larry sit back down in the chair and Larry let out a growl of frustration, leaning his head down once again, rubbing at his temples miserably. Terri bit her lip as she thought about what had just happened. Many movie scenes flashed before her eyes as she recalled how similar their experience must've looked to those famous cinema moments: Heidi helping the crippled girl up from her wheelchair so she could walk for her father as a Christmas gift, Bambi trying to walk for the first time. That was it...the lack of control Larry had over his limbs made Terri think of a fawn attempting to walk. Terri covered her mouth to hide her snicker and she felt SO guilty for laughing, but she couldn't help it. She ended up snort laughing, which caused Larry to raise his head in order to look at her. When he noticed her shoulders shaking with silent, repressed laughter, he raised an eyebrow.

"I'm glad my pain is so amusing to you." He said, his tone dripping with sarcasm. This just made her laugh even harder.

"I'm sorry!" Terri gasped in between giggles. "It's just that you reminded me of a baby deer trying to walk for the first time!"

Larry snorted, a huge grin spreading across his face as he pictured it in his head. It was kind of funny. In spite of himself, he started chuckling quietly under his breath.

"Yeah, I can see that..." He admitted.

"I'm not laughing at you, I swear...I'm laughing _with _you!" Terri hunched over, laughing loudly and high pitched. "We nurses have to have kind of a sick sense of humor, don't you know!"

"You can say that again!" Larry didn't know if it was the light headedness, but he started laughing loudly and in earnest with Terri. After a while, he closed his eyes and tried to catch his breath. Terri, however, was still in a giggly mood.

"Larry?" She asked him.

"Hmmm?"

"Try not to fall over and crack your head open on the floor, okay?" Terri smirked at him.

It wasn't a particularly funny comment, but it just set the both of them off again. Larry was practically bellowing with laughter and Terri was almost shrieking. They were surprised no one had come into the room to yell at them to quiet it down yet. This was one of Terri's favorite things about hanging out with Larry, she always had a good time with him and he always made her laugh, no matter what the situation was...and laughter was the best medicine.

"Are you feeling okay now?" Terri asked him. She rubbed his back soothingly, tears of laughter in her eyes.

"Yeah, I think so." Larry grinned at her. "Let's go."

Terri helped Larry up from the chair and the two of them walked out of the room, making their way down the hallway at a leisurely pace.

"You know, I'm really glad you're taking me out to dinner...because I might _faint _if I don't get some real food in me soon." Terri smirked playfully at him.

"Oh, Lord...you're never going to let me live this down, are you?" Larry rolled his eyes, but he was smiling.

"Nope!" Terri giggled.

"Well, I think you'll be much more graceful about it than I was." Larry joked. "I promise to catch you."

"Well, I should hope so!" Terri grinned.

"So, I'll pick you up from here at 6 and then you can tell me where we are going to go for dinner, okay?" Larry asked her, wanting confirmation.

"Right, see you then!" Terri stopped walking, waving at him.

"Okay." Larry returned her wave. He then turned around and continued walking down the hall, making his way past the front desk and heading toward the exit. She watched him for a moment, amusement lighting up her face. She loved how she always had a good time with him. After a while, she started to turn away in order to get back to business. After all, she still had three hours to go before she was officially free for the day.

"Hey, Terri!" She heard Larry call her name. Terri turned back and made eye contact with Larry, who was just about to walk out door.

"Yes?" Terri asked him.

Larry fixed her with a mischievous grin, before turning back around and heading for the exit once again. Despite being fully recovered now, he began doing his "Bambi walk" again...stumbling out the door as if he was drunk just to make her laugh. And boy, did it work. Terri practically howled with laughter, before covering her mouth in order to stifle her noise. Some people in the hallway were beginning to look at her and Larry as if they were insane.

She couldn't wait until tonight, and not just for the food...but because she genuinely liked hanging out with Larry.

THE END


End file.
